#astarion thinky thoughts

[amischiefofmice]

Did you know that if you have Astarion bite the blood merchant and you are /not/ dating him he's far less... upset about the whole thing?

he's not even upset with /you/ at all. If you apologize to him after he admits he regrets doing it, you get the line above. he's upset at himself.

which is in essence, "I never let you see past my mask, so why should I be upset you believed it?"

So he's basically feeling like it was all his fault he just had a Bad Time, why wouldn't' you ask him to bite her? And really, you do not have to pressure him much at all, he folds like a wet paper bag. Notice, there's no roll for this one.

Astarion will just do whatever you tell him to do. Hell is there even a roll before act3 for any of his interactions? (Besides Bite Night, of course. But you're really rolling against The Hunger more so than him for that, he loses control if you fail your rolls, you just help bring him back to himself if you succeed.)

[surprise-based-teddy-bear]

I'm tempted to do an Astarion origin run, but I just don't see how it would ever work out. That dude is not equipped to make decisions, much less lead.

[scurvgirl]

Keep thinking about the owlbear cub and Scratch taking over my Tav's bedroll to the point of her scooching over to Astarion's because 1) they've slept together twice at this point, 2) she genuinely likes sleeping with him because he is always the cool side of the pillow and 3) girlfriend wants a snuggle dammit. Astarion gets all "miffed" (he actually likes it) about it but she is just like "you trance anyways! Lemme." And of course he does because he's manipulating her (aw fuck she's meeting all of his standards).

[syn0vial]

re-reblogging this again now that i've finished astarion's companion quest. now i'm wondering if astarion's embroidery on his clothes had some added significance in light of cazador carving the runes in his back with a knife he sneeringly called his "needle." was cazador mocking astarion's penchant for embroidery by calling it that? or did astarion take up embroidering his own clothes to take back a sense of agency afterwards?

i guess it's not canon anymore anyway, but it's still interesting to think about!

THEY REMOVED THE EMBROIDERED POETRY FROM ASTARION'S SHIRT IN THE NEWEST UPDATE

I'M SO UPSET, BRING BACK THE PLUM POEM

[surprise-based-teddy-bear]

I keep wondering about this too. Reliving memories and experiences from past lives must be an important part of learning and maturation for elves, hence the one hundred year milestone when that stage of their lives ends.

I like the idea that Astarion got cut off from his past lives the moment he was turned, and the fact that this part of his development got cut off so abruptly, not even halfway through the expected process, is part of why he's Like That.

Something I've spent a lot of time thinking about: Elves have a different concept of when adulthood begins that isn't based on emotional or physical maturity but on their relationship to memory and trance. During their first century, memories of their past lives are slowly phased out during trance until they can only recall memories of their current life, and once they can't recall their past lives in trance anymore, they're considered adults. There is also a limited number of elven souls to go around; new elven souls don't really come into existence anymore, but already existing elven souls CAN become cut off from the cycle of reincarnation. Basically what I just can't help but wonder is how this interacts with Astarion and undeath/vampirism.

Astarion was 39 when he became a vampire spawn, aka, by the time of his death/transformation, he still had access to his past life memories in trance. So, I wonder, what happened to his trance memories once he was turned? Did he still experience the slow phasing-out of past live memories that a living elf would before the end of their first century, or did becoming undead interfere with that somehow? As in, when he became a vampire spawn, did he suddenly lose the connection to his past live memories?

The reason why I wonder is because, afaik, DROW do not experience their past lives. They're obviously elves, but they were actually cursed a long, long time ago. And their souls don't usually go to Arvandor to await reincarnation (they end up in the Demonweb Pits, usually; Eilistraeen drow are a different matter). BASICALLY what I'm getting at here is that curses seem to be able to interfere with how trance is experienced and with access to memories of your past lives and the primal elven soul. Vampirism is a curse (just one that does effect individuals instead of a whole population). Just something I keep wondering about because I'm a nerd.

[rainbowbarnacle]

Thinky Baldur's Gate Thoughts

I was thinking about Ascended!Astarion and how messed up it must be to live in a place that tortured you for so long.

You'd think, yay, Astarion took Cazador's castle and refurnished it and he gets to live there and hold massive celebratory balls and sit on a throne and traumatize the staff, so Truly He Must Have Bested Cazador In Every Single Way Possible And So Now Astarion Is Completely Fine

But there's this undercurrent of denial running through everything.

It's like a pretty mask hiding an infection. All the power and tasteful decor on earth doesn't erase what happened to him. Ascended!Astarion hasn't healed a bit. He just thinks he did because power = safety, and he thinks that if he edits and controls every aspect of his present life (including you, if you're his spawn) to his own liking, he's won, he's his best self.

But he still suffered and starved in those same dungeons, he still has to walk past the pleasure suites where he did his miserable duty for two centuries. Those walls know his screams.

Even if he blithely makes himself not think about what he went through and convinces himself that he's rubbed his scent over every bit of his new-old home so that it's his now, living there must weigh on him like a pall.

Meanwhile, there is no denial with Spawn!Astarion. He got to get out and live in the imperfect world and decide what he wanted to do and move on.

Ascended!Astarion (even the one who travels around the world or goes to Avernus) can't move on. He never left.

[amischiefofmice]

i'm sure we all remember the goblins you get to kill or let go in moonrise towers in act 2

I got to this in my Wyll origin playthrough and of course Astarion disapproves (a whole -1! lol) if you let them go, but Wyll is a good boy now so off they went.

I love the lil thinky face he does in the background here as Karlach is all 'yay u go Wyll!' i love it so much i didnt get a good screencap the first time so redid the scene a few times to capture it, so I got his solo response too

oh! he doesn't' disapprove if you let them go bc he wanted to see some more murder gore and wanted them to suffer, its bc now the half-orc that you are TRYING to get in good with might be pissy with you!

and how are you going to take over this cult if that HAPPENS

you gotta get his shitty lil motivations correct, he's already changed a bit by the time act2 rolls around, and its less about 'eh fuck them'. sometimes anyway lol

[rindemption]

For anyone who'd like to see the answer without digging through replies

Question: is it possible to turn down Astarion's sexual advances and still start a romance with him? Contemplating restarting Therius's playthrough and I want to know if that's an option

[surprise-based-teddy-bear]

I keep thinking about how someone who's been belittled and mocked eventually stops sharing what they like and are excited about, hides it even, to make sure no one can hurt them through the things they love.

And about how Astarion keeps saying out loud how he's not into the arts, isn't much of a reader – and then he spends all his time at camp with a book in his hands.

[scurvgirl]

Alright, I did it, I gave in and I'm writing a little for BG3 - I got the conversation where Astarion is trying to look at himself in the mirror and I just...the tadpoles are literally right there, why isn't this an option? I haven't even gotten to Act 2 yet so if this happens just ignore me, I just needed to write the thinky thoughts

--

Mynara chuckled, "I think I can do you one better than shallow flattery."

"Oh? Do tell," he purred in that tone that just, ugh! It wasn't fair that he could just sound like that.

She stepped forward, her hazel gaze unwavering from his red one.

"Don't tell Lae'zel we're doing this, but...feel the tadpole in your mind?"

"I haven't stopped feeling its wriggling presence."

"Alright, reach out and...I don't know how else to explain it but feel mine. I'm letting you in."

Astarion quirked his brow but his eyes grew focused and his mouth drew into a hard line before she felt the invasive push of another tadpole into her mind. Calm yourself, she told herself, and let Astarion into her mind with a directing flow to what she saw. Her eyes were trained on his face, on the slope of his nose, the height of his cheekbones, the point of his chin, and the slight protrusion of his fangs against supple lips - barely evident when his mouth was closed unless you knew what to look for.

His recognition of what she was doing jolted through them both and it flashed in surprise on his face with raised eyebrows and wide red eyes - mouth slightly open to reveal pointy teeth.

"I-

His hand rose to his mouth and a tentative finger touched the point of a fang.

"Do you see how 'beautiful' is too simple of a term for you? You're like art - striking and intriguing and just...I want to look at you all the time." Mynara blushed at her words. They were true and mushy and flattering, yes, so he'd like it, but mushy all the same.

A dull ache began to spread from the back of her skull.

"Astarion, dear, I don't think I can keep this up for much longer." With that, the melding of minds closed off and Astarion staggered as his vision returned to him. Dizziness swarmed Mynara briefly before she focused her vision and righted herself.

She looked to the vampire who was staring at her with an inscrutable expression that quickly morphed into his easy, deceptive smirk.

"Oh but I am still beautiful."

Mynara snorted, "Yes, preen away, pretty vampire." She meant to step back a little but stumbled. With deft reflexes, Astarion was there.

"I will not forget this gift, darling."

Mynara smiled her own self-deprecating smile that he'd grown used to...and was becoming increasingly...concerned about?

"Yes, well, I'm a bloodbag, might as well be a mirror too."

"Oh, don't say it like that! You're my bloodbag and my mirror - what better specimen could you ask for?"

Mynara bit her tongue, one that is honest to me.

[surprise-based-teddy-bear]

In my country magistrates were a type of local government that handled things like property matters, construction permits, certificates of all kinds – and my favorite: civil marriage ceremonies.

Can you imagine magistrate!Astarion rolling up to officiate your wedding?

[surprise-based-teddy-bear]

I wonder, does Astarion remember his family name anymore when you meet him? Or has that too been forgotten, only to come back when he brings you to his grave and sees it carved into stone? Lost, then reclaimed again.